Mixtape 12/Pedestal 09: Groove Armada In Retrospect

Another treat for the weekend! While I was in Europe a while back, I picked up two really cool album sets. They were budget re-releases in eco-friendly mini-sleeves that bundled together two of an artist's back catalog classics. I got a Suede one (with their first two albums, to be featured in a future post) and a Groove Armada one including their first two major label records, Vertigo and Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub). I was going to do a quick review of each, but then realized that I haven't posted most of my favorite Groove Armada songs yet and decided instead to do a full mixtape (hooray!). Their first major release (and second overall), Vertigo set the tone for electronic artists in 1999. Taking trip-hop to its logical conclusion and reinventing lounge house, smooth tracks like "Chicago" were interspersed with uptempo bangers "If Everybody Looked The Same" and "I See You Baby" that would set alight the charts alongside Basement Jaxx, Daft Punk, The Chemical Brothers and their fellow house music contemporaries at the turn of the century. Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub) cemented their reputation as beat mavericks with the deep house thump of first single "Superstylin'," while expanding their sound with genre hybrids like "Suntoucher" and string-laden "Edge Hill." While tripping a bit with the poorly-received Love Box, they regained form on last year's great Soundboy Rock (featured in my favorite albums of 2007 list). In an effort to not repeat tracks, and to make this a worthwhile compilation for fans big and small, I left out some favorites like "At The River" and a couple of their biggest singles in favor of rarer cuts and album finds, including a handful of hard-to-find mixes from their excellent double-disc retrospective Ten Year Story: From The Vaults 1997-2007. Also making the cut are mixes of their recent smashes "Get Down" and "Song 4 Mutya (Out Of Control)," as well as two mixes by the duo of blog favorites Róisín Murphy and Madonna. Enjoy the Groove!

Groove Armada In Retrospect:
1. Groove Armada, "Suntoucher" [YSI]
2. Groove Armada, "Whatever, Whenever" [YSI]
3. Groove Armada, "Superstylin'" [YSI]
4. Groove Armada, "I See You Baby" (Fatboy Slim Radio Edit) [YSI]
5. Róisín Murphy, "Let Me Know" (Andy Cato Vedra Mix) [YSI]
6. Groove Armada, "If Everybody Looked The Same" [YSI]
7. Groove Armada Feat. Stush, "Get Down" (Calvin Harris Remix) [YSI]
8. Madonna, "Music" (Groove Armada 12" Mix) [YSI]
9. Groove Armada, "Lightsonic" (Re-rub) [YSI]
10. Groove Armada, "Chicago" [YSI]
11. Groove Armada, "Edge Hill" [YSI]
12. Groove Armada, "Easy" (Deep Shelf Remix) [YSI]
13. Groove Armada Feat. Mutya Buena, "Song 4 Mutya (Out Of Control)" (A1 People Panic Remix) [YSI]
14. Groove Armada, "Fogma" [YSI]
15. Groove Armada, "Save My Soul" (Live Acid Remix) [YSI]
16. Groove Armada, "Paris" [YSI]

Tracks 2, 6, 10 from Vertigo
Tracks 1, 3, 11, 14 from Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub)
Track 16 from Soundboy Rock
Tracks 9, 12, 15 from Ten Year Story: From The Vaults 1997-2007
Tracks 4, 5, 7, 8, 13 from various single releases
Tracks 3, 4, 6, 10 also available on The Best Of
Tracks 3, 10, 11, 16 also included on Ten Year Story: From The Vaults 1997-2007

Link: Find more GA in old posts.

***Note: Links removed***

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